SEOUL: Asia Journalist Association (AJA) is deeply alarmed and outraged by the escalating attacks, brutal killings, injuries, and unjust detentions of media workers—blatant violations of international law.

We demand an immediate end to the slaughter of journalists across Asia and beyond, particularly in Gaza, where scores have been deliberately targeted.

The Gaza government media office said that as of 3 January 2025, 202 journalists had been killed in Gaza.

The Seoul-based AJA with active members from East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia, recognizes the vital role media workers and media support workers play across the globe in news gathering and reporting.

They are risking their lives to report on events and to document happenings, and as such they need robust protection to help them carry out their assignments.

AJA deplores the unfortunate fact that instead of being safeguarded, media workers are forced to work in a very hostile environment and are targeted fatally, ending their lives and denying them the right to report the reality on the ground and to share the truth with the rest of the world.

AJA is very concerned about the current level of threats and attacks on journalists reporting from conflict areas around the world. With every journalist killed, a life is ended, a family is devastated, and a fragment of the truth is lost.

It condemns all egregious acts against journalists and calls on governments and employers of the media workers to provide them and their families back home with proper life and health insurance.

The Association also demands transparent, independent investigations into all journalists’ deaths and injuries. It firmly believes that every government and media organization worldwide must take decisive action to prevent such extreme violence against journalists.